Fifty Shades of Grey brings economic boom to Maine town

Rock CenterEast Millinocket, Maine, once dubbed the town that paper made, has struggled since its big paper mill closed nearly two years ago, but recently the town received an unlikely boost from the Fifty Shades of Grey craze.

A few months after the once shuttered mill, Great Northern Paper, reopened, Fifty Shades of Grey was released. The craze swirling around the steamy bestseller and its sequels meant that the books' publisher, Random House, needed a lot of paper. They turned to the Maine paper mill. Now, the once idle paper mill workers are busier than they’ve been in years.